As the music industry reveals its best albums of 2008, Sarah Bunney discovers that the year’s high-flyers are not necessarily the names you would have expected

As the music industry reveals its best albums of 2008, Sarah Bunney discovers that the year’s high-flyers are not necessarily the names you would have expected

IF YOU want to test whether you’ve still got your finger on the pulse of popular culture, see how many of this year’s album of the year nominees you have actually heard of.

As the top 50 albums are revealed in the HMV Poll of Polls today as contenders for the best record of 2008, there will certainly be plenty that won’t have featured on your iPod.

The highest placed Welsh artist in the list is, surprisingly, not Duffy but rock band Neon Neon, the Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys’ new project, which comes in at number 17 with Stainless Style.

Duffy only manages 28th place, despite her album Rockferry being comfortably the year’s top seller, with 1.5 million copies shifted.

While rock and indie legends like Metallica and Oasis are among the more well-known artists, only a handful of those shortlisted are household names – unless you’re into electropop or dance-punk, that is.

Heavyweight bands that have recently dominated the charts do feature on the list, however.

Kings of Leon’s album Only By The Night earned a respectable 14th place, but The Killers – currently one of the biggest bands in the world – only managed 48th with Day and Age. Big hitters Coldplay came in at 34th.

The Poll of Polls adds up nominations from music writers from magazines such as NME and Mojo, as well as the national press and online music sites. HMV staff also vote in the poll, as do customers on HMV’s social network site getcloser.com.

Alternative rock band Elbow topped this year’s poll with their Mercury Prize-winning album The Seldom Seen Kid.

Manchester-based Elbow’s triumph followed a close run with Portishead’s long-awaited comeback album Third.

The latest offering from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig – is third, while debuts from Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend completes the top five. Singer-songwriter Christopher Rees, 35, from Llanelli, said: “Elbow have taken a good step forward with The Seldom Seen Kid – it’s a striking, bold record.

“The Fleet Foxes are the critics’ favourite of this year, and are favoured among radio DJs.

“Their music has been influenced by Americana and British folk, bringing out West Coast harmonies which creates a really nice sound.

“Portishead’s album, Third, was highly anticipated by music fans, but perhaps wasn’t what everyone was hoping for. They are a pretty uncompromising band.

“Duffy’s Rockferry is another strong album. It’s a shame she didn’t feature higher in the list, but when records are so popular in mainstream charts, they lose favour with the critics. The quirkier the sound, the cooler it becomes in their opinion.”

John Rostron, commercial director for established music venue The Point in Cardiff Bay, said: “Bon Iver produced a spectacularly good album that will stand the test of time.

“Increasingly in the past few years, we have seen a rise in the quality of independent music and of bands signed to small record labels. With all the doom and gloom stories of record shops closing, 2009 should see more of bands of that ilk coming through.

“People’s music tastes are becoming less identifiable – they are not afraid to be far more eclectic in the types of music they listen to.”

Mr Rostron, 36, said it was important to offer a diverse range of music. “There is new music arriving on my doorstep every day, with a real aptitude for making great records. I personally love Neon Neon – Gruff Rhys is a modern day musical genius. Everything he touches is unique. He is inventive, creative and imaginative, and is not afraid to challenge preconceptions.

“Normally when artists from successful bands decide to experiment, their attempts are inferior in quality, but his whole concept is fabulous.”

New arrivals Duffy and Alexandra shift the most sales

Duffy and X Factor winner Alexandra Burke were named as this year’s music champions as the full-year charts were announced yesterday. mon

Burke’s version of Hallelujah flew off the shelves to become the biggest-selling single of the year, while Nefyn singer Duffy’s Rockferry was comfortably the biggest-selling album of 2008, according to the Official Charts Company data.

The results also showed Syco Music, the company set up by X Factor judge Simon Cowell, released the two most popular singles of this year and the fourth most popular album – Leona Lewis’ Spirit.

Burke’s version of Hallelujah, sold another 311,000 copies last week to mount a total of 888,000 singles, including downloads and CDs, in the final two weeks of the year.

Burke pushed the X Factor Finalists’ charity single Hero, with sales of 751,000, into second place.

Coming third, Duffy sold 536,000 copies of Mercy – the only other single to sell more than half a million copies.

Duffy held off a last ditch album challenge from Take That, with her album Rockferry selling 1.685m copies – digital and physical – to remain on top to the end of the year.

Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: “Duffy and Alexandra Burke have been the biggest new arrivals on the British music scene over the past year, bar none.”

The Official Charts Company compiles the UK’s official singles, albums and compilations charts.

Take That’s The Circus sold 1.446m albums in the last four weeks – which also made it the UK’s second fastest million-seller, in just 19 days to finish second, ahead of Kings of Leon, Lewis and Coldplay.

The Mamma Mia! The Movie soundtrack was the year’s biggest compilation seller and the only various artists package to sell more than a million copies in the UK.

Here are 2008’s official top-selling singles and their record labels:

1 Hallelujah/Alexandra Burke (Syco Music)

2 Hero/X Factor Finalists (Syco Music)

3 Mercy/Duffy (A&M)

4 I Kissed A Girl/Katy Perry (Virgin)

5 Rockstar/Nickelback (Roadrunner)

6 American Boy/Estelle ft Kanye West (Atlantic/Homeschool)

7 Sex On Fire/Kings of Leon (Hand Me Down)

8 Now You’re Gone/Basshunter ft DJ Mental Theo (Hard2Beat)

9 4 Minutes/Madonna ft Justin Timberlake (Warner Bros)

10 Black & Gold/Sam Sparro (Island)

Here are 2008’s official top-selling artist albums and their record labels:

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